On 20 September Carol wrote: > I would suggest you read some of Antonio Damasio's > work--DesCartes' Error; The Feeling of What Happens; > and Looking for Spinoza are three of his books that > are very well-written and pretty readable.
I think it is difficult for the layperson (especially the philosophically lay) to assess books like *Looking for Spinoza*, at least in terms of the connections with the philosopher in question. For a highly critical view by someone who seems to know his Spinoza, see the review by Noel Malcolm: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2003%2F06%2F15%2Fbodam215.xml&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=110332 The final paragraphs of Malcolm’s review read: Damasio's account, in which first a physical thing happens (the emotion), then a mental event happens (the feeling) as a consequence of observing the physical thing, is very un-Spinozan. And yet Damasio has convinced himself that he is communing intellectually with the 17th-century philosopher, and has filled out the second half of his book with a potted biography of him. Never mind that he gets simple names wrong, and refers twice to a rabbi at Spinoza's synagogue as a "chamach" (the word is "chacham", meaning a learned man). Even if he had copied out these details correctly, his Spinozan credentials would still be painfully thin. Readers may not learn much about either Spinoza or the nature of feelings from this book. But they could use it as a device to test how philosophically minded they are - the test being whether it induces feelings of mild, or intense, irritation. Noel Malcolm's books include 'Aspects of Hobbes' (Clarendon Press). Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.human-nature.com/esterson/index.html http://www.butterfliesandwheels.com/articleprint.php?num=10 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
